Since the earliest years of the cinema, fantasy has been one of the most common filmic modes — and it is no coincidence that many (or indeed most) fantasy films feature significant elements of myth and/or tragedy. For your final Blogpost of the semester, you have three options: 1) Returning your attentions to the early days of the cinema in America, pick another popular and influential film from, say, sometime before 1970. Much like with have done with the ‘Wizard of Oz’, I’d like you to consider: just how does the film fit with some of the key archetypes or heroic adventures we have seen so far this semester? What are the “mythological” elements of your chosen film, how does it fit with the monomyth, and what lessons does it teach? Be specific and detailed in explaining your answer. 2) In the wake of our fun-filled screening on Friday of ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’, it would be interesting to hear some more words on the mythological (or tragic) elements, characters, or themes of George Lucas’s influential film. However, given that we spent our time on Friday with the original ‘Star Wars’ film, it might also be especially interesting to see you address some of the ideas, heroes, or magical symbols in one of the other ‘Star Wars’ films that we did NOT watch in class. Alternately, you could do something similar with the ‘Star Trek’ series if that interests you. 3) Finally, what do you make of the myth-making in J.R.R. Tolkein’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy and/or the Harry Potter franchise? Since it is your final Blog of the semester, I have deliberately left this prompt a little bit open-ended, but I’ll be interested in hearing your thoughts on some of the most famous (cinematic) “myths” created in the (post)modern world!
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The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a popular novel and movie franchise. There are a plethora of people who know the story of Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship. Without explaining to much of the plot, it is easy to distinguish this story as another myth. It has many similar themes to some of the greatest cinematic myths, and these themes can be traced back to older oral myths as well.
Much like Star Wars, and The Wizard of Oz, Lord of the Rings falls into Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey template. You have the call to adventure, the refusal of the call, the mentor, the allies, the enemies, the battle, the reward and so on. The movie practically follows the template step-by-step. You have Frodo Baggins along with his friends going on an extravagant adventure, with obstacles to overcome, a glorious reward and a ceremony to praise them for all they did.
There is also the theme of love present through the relationship between Aragorn and Arwen. Family/brotherhood is another theme that can be found in this film, specifically shown between Sam and Frodo. Finally, the depiction of women in the movie are similar to those of older myths. While it is known that the main Fellowship members consists of a bunch a men, we do see some women present in the film. However, most of these women are thinner, and beautiful. It highlights the importance of beauty in the culture.
As you can see, Lord of the Rings, while easily considered one of the greatest trilogies, does not differentiate completely from other mythological films. They share similar themes and characteristics.
Harry Potter is a trendy film and movie franchise favored by a lot of people. Although it’s considered to be a series of fantasy novels, it’s also perceived as a myth with mythological elements. Some of the greatest cinematic myths such as Hercules or Percy Jackson & the Olympians have similar themes to Harry Potter. To add, Harry Potter follows Joseph Campbell’s writing style by having a call for adventure and later leading up to a reward. Despite Harry Potter being a series, they all shadow the same plot. They all chronicle the life of a young wizard, Harry Potter and friends, Hermione and Ron who are all student at Hogwarts who learn to perform magic and go on adventures to take on their archenemy, Lord Voldermort. Just like myths, there is the allies, obstacles to overcome and usually a noble reward at the end. Also, similar to myths, important themes in Harry Potter include loyalty, good vs. evil, friendship and love. All in all, Harry Potter isn’t completely different to other mythological films. However, they possess more similarities and qualities than you would imagine.
The movie series, “Star Wars” is a childhood favorite of many American children. As a child, Star Wars is fascinating because of its amazing special effects and its plethora of out of this world beings and places. The many settings seen in Star Wars really allows for a child’s imagination to run wild. However, the reason Star Wars has been such a successful series of films for George Lucas is that it appeals to adults just as much as it does to children. When Star Wars is examined in a more complex way, it is very interesting to see how it is a perfect example of myth. As we saw in the first episode of Star Wars, “A New Hope”, the movie fits in almost perfectly to Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth.
Just like how the episode we watched in class fit perfectly into the monomyth, the episode after that, “The Empire Strikes Back”, also fits very nicely into the structure of the monomyth. When the episode begins, the call to adventure has pretty much already happened, as Luke and his rebel allies have been forced to move their base across the galaxy to a planet named Hoth. Luke finds himself in trouble, abandoned in the snow being attacked by a creature named a Wampa. He gets himself out of this situation similarly to the way he did in the last episode when he was being attacked in the beginning of the movie, by Obi Wan Kenobi stepping in. Although Obi Wan is now dead, Luke sees him in his mind, and uses his guidance to fight off the Wampa. The ghost of Obi Wan also tells him another major piece of advice, to go find Yoda. In this way, the role of “the wise and helpful guide” is being passed on from Obi Wan Kenobi to Yoda. Next, Luke is forced to refuse the call to go find Yoda because Darth Vader attacks the rebel base, and Luke must stay to fend him off. This is the threshold that Luke must pass, avoiding being killed by Vader’s attack. Luke and R2D2 eventually find Yoda on a planet called Dagobah. Yoda tells Luke about what happened to his father, how he was a great Jedi but became angry. Yoda warns him to not let this happen to him as well, and tells him more about what it will take to become a Jedi. This is the mystical insight.
At the same time that this is happening, Han Solo and the rest of Luke’s friends, including Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO are hiding from the Imperial fleet in a vast asteroid field. This is the next part of the monomyth, a classic example of the labyrinth. Back on Dagobah, Luke is undergoing a training session with Yoda when he has a vision of Han and Leia in trouble. Despite Yoda’s warning, Luke leaves Dagobah in search of his friends. Although Yoda does not die, this represents “losing the guide” because this is the last we see of Yoda in the movie. The movie ends with what I would call the heroic deed, as Luke fights Darth Vader and faces the fact that he is indeed his father. Luke escapes, is rescued by his friends, and returns to the Millenium Falcon, which for now is home.
For this blog post, I decided to choose option 1 and continue to discuss the use of monomyth in films made before 1970. One particular film that I found that used the Hero’s Journey and still had mythological elements in it is Alice in Wonderland (1951). Alice is from an ordinary english society, but experiences her Call to Adventure when she falls down a rabbit hole as she was chasing a rabbit that she was fascinated by. When she gets to Wonderland, she refuses to believe it is real and tells everyone that they’ve “got the wrong Alice.” She especially refuses the call believing that she would not be able to fulfill the destiny given to her by the creatures of Wonderland. Shortly after, she meets with her mentor, the Mad Hatter who informs her about the Red Queen and the destruction she causes.
The monomyth still follows out through the rest of the movie, like it does in the Wizard of Oz. I thought it was a good idea to compare the two, because the both of them contain the same mythological aspects of being two completely normal girls from ordinary worlds, but fall into a world different from their own full of magical aspects whether it be a talking tin man from Oz to a talking cashmere cat from Wonderland. Both worlds give off that same magical aspect. Alice and Dorothy are very similar, especially when it comes to the journey that they go on.
In my final blog post, I would love to discuss my favorite series of all time, Harry Potter. Growing up, Harry Potter provided a mystical outlet that enveloped me in a magic-driven, fantastical world. Back then, I just saw it as a form of entertainment, however, now after learning more about the hero’s journey, I can see it is much more than just entertainment. The series of Harry Potter can definitely be used for teaching purposes due to archetype of it. In the hero’s journey, the hero (Harry, in this case), gets a call to adventure (the letters), refuses the call (Hagrid showing up, telling Harry he is a wizard, and Harry not believing it), then crosses the threshold (Diagon Alley). After this, Harry meets the threshold guardian, Ollivander, where he gets his wand. Due to obtaining his wand, he is able to go to Hogwarts! From there on, Harry meets his allies, Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, Dumbledore, and Hedwig, and faces many challenges. Particularly in the first book/movie, challenges leading up to the main one are the ogre in the bathroom, getting past Fluffy to get into the “labyrinth”, then they have to get out of the Devil’s Snare (do so by using wands/relaxing), find the correct key out of the flying keys, and finally, they have to play a very violent game of chess. All of these tribulations lead up to the main conflict, fighting Lord Voldemort. Harry has to enter into the “abyss” alone, where he faces Voldemort and defeats him with his touch. Due to defeating, for now, Voldemort, Harry has a revelation that once he has to defeat him for good, it will be possible. Harry’s “atonement” is when the students and faculty of Hogwarts have their goodbye feast and Harry is recognized as a hero for getting rid of Voldemort. He finally has found his true “home” where he feels loved and welcomed. Sadly, the students of Hogwarts have to return home due to the term ending, so Harry “returns home” to the Dursley’s back in boring old Surrey. This completes Harry’s hero’s journey until next time. In conclusion, the wizarding world of Harry Potter reflects the universal term “hero’s journey” perfectly.
The monomyth is a mold that fits into more films than most people think. Usually when people hear “Hero’s Journey”, they think of wizard of Oz, Star Wars, and general fantasy films where the hero is specifically labeled a hero and the world is unfamiliar to our own. I thought it would be interesting to see how the monomyth fits in with a story and a hero who are a bit more grounded to reality, specifically Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 film Rear Window.
Rear Window is a mystery thriller, about a man (L.B. Jeffries) who is confined to a wheelchair in his apartment after breaking his leg photographing a racetrack accident. During a powerful heat wave, he watches his neighbors, who keep their windows open to stay cool, and invites himself into the world of his apartment complex. One night he overhears a woman screaming “don’t”, and the next morning notices his neighbor Thorwald’s wife is now missing, and then sees Thorwald cleaning a large knife and handsaw. Here we can make connections to the monomyths first and second stage, “Ordinary World” and “Call to Adventure.” I would say that Jeffries apartment is his ordinary world, and his voyeuristic tendencies is his gateway to the “other world”, where he hears his call to action, which is the woman screaming “don’t”. However, Jeffries does not refuse the call, in fact he is completely convinced that Thorwald had killed his wife and is pretty determined to investigate. There are many times where the people he comes into contact with tell him to drop it, which I think could be considered a minor societal refusal, but not necessarily a personal one. There is no real mentor in this movie, but there is certainly a slew of characters who try to take on that role. Stella and certainly Det. Lt. Doyle are eager to give him advice like a mentor would, but they don’t quite fit the Campbellian mold. Jeffries also has a fashion model girlfriend, Lisa, who visits him regularly, and she acts as one of his allies, even proving to be extremely useful in helping his case. She notices on an odd detail concerning the murder victim’s handbag, saying that “Women don’t keep all their jewelry in a purse, all tangled, getting scratched and twisted up.” This casts further suspicion on Thorwald. Lisa also puts herself on the front lines by being the one who enters Thorwald’s apartment, essentially approaching the Inmost Cave, and in this scenario Lisa is the Hero since all Jeffries can do now is sit in his room and look on helplessly. Thorwald eventually catches Lisa in his home and spots Jeffries up in his apartment after Lisa flashes him signals. He sets up a final murderous confrontation, or the final ordeal. He passes his test by using the flash bulb on his camera to blind Thorwald in his dark room long enough for the police to arrive, but it was quite close seeing as it forced him to fall out of his window, leaving him with now 2 broken legs. In the end, the main reward is Justice served for the dead, and restoring order to the apartment community.
Overall, the hero’s journey is an extremely universal mold that even fits into the most unlikely of places. While Rear Window isn’t a fantasy movie, it still fits the monomyth well, despite it’s lack of a strictly fantastical world and a strictly heroic hero.
Star Wars is a prime example of Ancient myth in a modern society. Star Wars, unlike most stories that involve story telling this one involves film. I was introduced to the film by my father when I was very young and I believe that is what myths are meant to do. Stories are meant to get passed down through generations and continue and Star Wars expemplifies those qualities. In all of the Star Wars films there are the roles of “Good” vs “Evil” and the role of the mentor plays a major part in Star Wars. Darth Vader in mentored by the Sith and Luke is guided by Obi Wan and the force. the force is the overall magic of Star Wars and is the only sign of a ‘magical element’. For example in the “revenge of the Sith” Luke battles with himself and saving his father which comes out to be Darth Vader and Luke must decide to save his father or let him die. Darth Vader also faces the battle of killing his own son, Luke because the Sith demands him too. Star Wars shows qualities of a great epic tale and I believe it continues to live on today with the new films being released.
The Harry Potter series can be directly related to stories such as Star Wars and Stark Trek. J.K Rowling’s unique stories follow a young man destined for greatness as he learns his true power and abilities. The hero, Harry Potter, learns to harness his magic talents in an effort to preserve the balance between good and evil. He is called into action when an evil wizard known as Voldemort is resurrected and harry is the only one who can defeat him. Although Harry is without a doubt one of the more powerful heroes in this genre of writing and movie making, it is important to observe his appearance in the books as well as the movies in comparison to the typical hero. When most people envision a hero as a muscular, brave, Arnold Schwarzenegger type, Harry Potter is almost the complete opposite and the series highlights the point that harry is not this type of hero. While he is brave, his physique is quite the opposite of an ideal heroes and this gives his character depth. The fact that he is not the ideal hero but rather the ideal hero in this instance speaks volumes and is one of the reasons why the series has such a large fan base.
In the movie, the empire strikes back an important character emerges to help luke complete the hero’s journey. The Jedi master Yoda played a major factor in Luke’s development into a better hero. After Luke escaped Hoth he landed on Dagobah and received training from Yoda. Yoda teaches Luke how to use the force properly so that he can take down the dark side. Luke then returns so he can rescue his friends but is confronted by Darth Vader. These two fight and Darth Vader ends up cutting off Luke’s hand, but because Luke was able to confront Vader he became a Jedi. After becoming a Jedi he was able to complete his journey.
The mythological archetype is exhibited throughout all of the Star Wars films, most notably in Episode 5, which focuses primarily on the training and adventures of main mythological hero Luke Skywalker. Just as Luke Skywalker finds his learned elder guide in the form of Ben Kenobi in the fourth film, he finds a new guide in the fifth episode of the series, The Empire Strikes Back, in the form of Yoda, who also teaches him to harness and employ the force and also wield his magical talisman in the form of his lightsaber, however Luke eventually loses his guide when he decides to leave Dagobah so that he may find his friends. Obi Wan Kenobi, Luke’s former elder guide even reappears in ghost form to lead Luke down the path to become a Jedi, the inner dilemma he faces as a mythological hero. Luke Skywalker is unsure if he is capable of being a Jedi knight and fighting the Sith empire, thus he is refusing his call to action. Luke’s sidekicks also appear, including Han Solo who saves him from freezing to death on Hoth and Princess Leia who returns as a maiden in distress figure but also serves as one of Luke’s guides along the journey. The classical concept of Good vs. Evil sets the premise of the film’s plot, with the Sith Empire shown becoming increasingly powerful and the Rebel Alliance scrambling desperately to fight back, resulting in betrayals between friends in the form of Lando freezing Han Solo and shocking family secrets revealed in the form of Luke Skywalker finding out Darth Vader is his father. What is most interesting about the film itself is that the film ends off not with a heroic triumph, rather it leaves with a sense of mystery and fear, since it appears that the evil side has the upper hand. It is with this sense of mystery and such spectacular visual illusions that Star Wars has become a legendary franchise for years to come.
Oliver Twist was a tale of an orphan boy who was sold into an apprenticeship, then ran away to join a gang of robbers. The movie came out in 1948 and has been watched as a classical film ever since. A big theme was the brother ship shown between Oliver and the rascals. In the same way, many Greek myths share a common theme of the characters having a deep, brotherly bond. This was especially important in Nordic culture of the Vikings. They had a very big “ride or die for my brothers” attitude. It is dually noted that most time, warriors had a deep bond with people not even in their direct family. They associated other warriors as family, because they went through the hardest times of their life together and survived horrors together. In the same way, Oliver felt this kinship with his thief brothers. They scavenged and starved for food, they robbed people to bring money home, and they slept in filth together.
For this final blog post I will be discussing the “Harry Potter” series as a modern myth. This series incorporates almost every element of myth that we have seen this semester, in class. First, the characters within the series follow “The Hero’s Journey,” as described by Joseph Campbell. Not only the main character, Harry Potter, but one can see that many other characters go through their own journey throughout the course of the series. Next, Aristotle’s ideas of tragedy are presented by J.K. Rowling in the deaths of characters such as Dumbledore, Sirius Black, Severus Snape, and Fred Weasley (to name a few). The deaths of these characters cause the viewer to feel an immense sense of loss and sadness at their untimely and tragic deaths. Additionally, it features themes involving magic, violence, death of parents, the battle between good and evil, and fate. The combination of these characteristics, techniques, and themes have caused the franchise to become a household name, like Star Wars, and continue to reach audiences across the world.
I will be discussing how the Harry Potter franchise relates to what we’ve learned about ancient myths so far in class. Harry Potter’s journey, closely mirrors that of the hero’s journey according to Campbell. Harry is treated poorly by his aunt and uncle, Hagrid picks him up to take him to Hogwarts and informs him that he is a wizard, he makes friends, he overcomes obstacles with school bullies, mean head masters, and magical monsters, he comes face to face with the villain, then he is triumphant, and the good side wins.
Another interesting aspect about the Harry Potter Franchise is its length. In ancient mythology this story would be considered an epic more than a myth. There are so many characters, challenges, and plots throughout the story that this story would not be able to be told in a simple short myth.
The story of Harry Potter doesn’t explain the origin of anything like myths once did, but it does shine a light on some issues that we face today in the modern world. A few examples being racism, slavery, and dictator-like leadership.
Racism is present between “purebloods” and ‘mudbloods.” Purebloods being full wizards, and mudbloods being half human, half wizard. Some purebloods are prejudice against mudbloods and believe that they are superior to them.
Slavery is present with the house elves. The upper class wizards all seem to have elves with magical powers to do chores for them. Harry Potter goes about freeing his elf and earning his companionship by giving him a sock. Voldemort and his cult followers can be compared to Hitler and the nazis the way he wants to purify the wizard world from mudbloods. Voldemort controls everyone and doesn’t seem to have any partners. He is ruthless and wants to be the most powerful wizard of all as his minions fall in line.
The story of Harry Potter will give insight as to what is going on in the world today to future readers/viewers studying our era, much as ancient myths have informed us of political issues, social norms, and morality of ancient times
The Harry Potter series showcase the very idea that Campbell describes what a hero needs in order to become a hero. Ordinary world: In the beginning, Harry Potter is stuck living underneath a tiny cupboard with his aunt and uncle, who abuse him every chance they get. The call to adventure: He then received a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry asking him to attend. Refusal to call: His aunt and uncles are against him going there and he himself did not believe that he could become a wizard. Meeting with the mentor: However, Hagrid visited him soon after and brought him to a place called Diagon Alley, where Harry becomes fascinated to learn the tricks of magic. Hagrid guided him through the task of becoming a wizard and becomes someone who Harry can depend on. Crossing the first threshold: At Hogwart, Harry finds out that his parents was killed by Lord Voldemort. He wants so much to avenge his parents’ death but he knows he’s too weak to do that alone so he made friends with Ron and Hermione to help him with the quest along the way. Their first quest is to protect the Philosopher’s Stone from Professor Snape. However, something goes wrong during the quest and Harry ended up facing Professor Quirrel, who Voldemort has been hosting on, alone. Harry knows that he is not strong enough to fight Voldemort by himself and Voldemort strong power made Harry passed out and almost brought him to the verge of death. As result of the encountered, Harry did not died but was brought to the school hospital. He later discovered that he was protected by his parents’ love that was able to save him from Voldemort wrath. Although, Harry may not defeated Voldemort but he knows that by being alive, he would have another chance of meeting Voldemort again in the near future.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Harry Potter franchise are global powerhouses in the aspect of how much they interested people and stroked the populations curiosity. In both cases, the movies caused so much attention to be brought back to the novels. Focusing on LTR first, Tolkein’s trilogy focuses on the classic hero’s journey. The realm in which it takes place is full of mystery and magic which is what interests people. It has a relatable plot that is easy to follow, but incorporates a lot of magical like aspects that are curious to the mind of the reader, like elves and hobbits. The Harry Potter franchise also excels in this field. It takes a nearly modern setting with characters like you and I, and completely turns it all around by “accepting the call to action”. This is done when Harry goes away to study at Hogwarts. I believe that the school aspect is something that made the largest impact on the public, as it can cause the mind to not only wonder and dream about what it’d be like to be a wizard, but what would happen if you went to Hogwarts. Our creativity and imagination is something that the author wants readers to use when they create novels. Doing so, you can get the reader hooked onto it, and be able to feel and relate to the characters displayed in the medium, even causing one to view them as role models for what they might stand for. Regarding both ‘myths’, they both cause the target audience to have to think and envision, or look at and analyze characters, settings, and topics foreign to them. Curiosity is something that rests inside all of us, and these famous myths excel at pulling them out, which is why they are blockbuster hits and modern classic literature.
For this blog post I chose to answer the first question and discuss the film Mary Poppins, which came out in 1964. This film is about a nanny, Mary, who comes into two children’s lives and throughout being involved with these kids brings them closer to their father. Mary, is seen as a hero because she saves these neglected kids and brings their family together again. This film relates to other heroic adventures because some of the stories we have read contain magic and so does Mary Poppins. King Arthur had his magic sword, the Excalibur, Mary poppins has her magical umbrella which she flies away with. Magic is all throughout Mary Poppins, for example when she talks to animals, which could also relate to myths where heroes talk to monsters like when Odysseus is able to communicate with the cyclopes and Bewoulf is able to communicate with monsters like Grendel. Mary is a very adventurous nanny who takes the kids on many fun and amusing trips just like mostly all of the myths we have read in class, which have some sort of adventure and that’s what Mary does best is adventure out. Overall, Mary is a heroic figure who greatly impacted the kids lives and was a magical and adventurous person.
The Harry Potter film series has become very well known in our times and this commonality has made it a modern myth. References can be made to various elements of the films and be understood even if a person has not watched them in their entirety as knowledge of that magical universe has seemed into our collective understanding of knowledge that all people should have in common. Harry Potter experiences much of its popularity as a coming of age story with characters that appeal to both genders and all ages with you and then allows you to share these childhood memories with future generations. Especially since, whilst the films may be more recent, the books have been out a while. Another element that makes the series so appealing is that right alongside Harry and his friend’s adventures as they grow up is parallels to our world, reality, and places the universe just out of reach, a very amusing “what-if” scenario springs from there. Myths have evolved overtime and these wizard themed tales have taken full advantage of the knowledge. Young viewers are not bored by tedious and long dramatic talks, older viewers are not put off by excessive violence stopping a meaningful plot from developing, and all enjoy the right mix of character insight and adventurous thrill that the story brings to its plot. This modern myth has shaped our society’s idea of what adventure should look like and future stories model themselves after it.
JAWS
Jaws is a part of American myth and legend just as much as Star Wars or The Wizard of OZ. Upon its release it struck fear into the hearts of movie and beach goers everywhere, rates of attendees at the beaches plummeted and the shark populations off the coast of the U.S followed a similar trend. Critics often judge Steven Spielberg for his villainizing of the shark but was it intentional or did he use the hero’s journey to convey a horror film that was formatted in such a relatable way that it seemed to real to not be true.
The main character of the film Chief Brody, starts off afraid of the water. This fear becomes more of a problem when his sleepy seaside town is besieged by a massive great white shark ibn the middle of the busiest season for the town. However, with the help of a young scientist with advanced gear and a wise yet crazy old fisherman Brody is convinced to head to the water and hunt down the killer shark. This does not happen however until after Brody denies that there is a serial killer shark and refuses his journey because of his deep seated fear.
Once in the water the “epic journey” has truly begun. After searching and chumming around the Atlantic the crew finally meet their quarry. The shark is its self-mythical, it is larger than life and possess strength of the likes that no one else has ever seen. After days of chasing the shark it finally gets the better of them and puts their ship out of working order. This is when Hooper sacrifices himself (we think) for the greater good of the crew and the people who swim on the Atlantic coast of the united states. He plunges into the water armed with a poison spear and is almost immediately defeated by the shark. The shark then goes on to eat the old fisherman giving him an ironic death of being eaten by a shark. Here we see some themes that completely follow the monomyth and the hero’s journey, while all hope seems lost Chief Brody has the insight to shoot the aquatic beast where it hurts the most. In a tank of compressed oxygen lodged in its “Jaws”. Putting an end to the shark Hooper makes a return as he submerges from the sea. Battered and tired the two men construct a makeshift raft and begin to paddle home.
As you can see from the brief plot synopsis and analysis Spielberg’s JAWS is truly an epic journey from top to bottom, the fact that it is so cemented in the minds of Americans further proves that humans have a part of them that craves these stories and has for thousands of years. The cast represents different walks of life and gives the viewers someone to relate to. Moreover, Chief Brody fits the role of “epic hero” to a t, with only one flaw, that being his fear of the sea. The lesson at the end of the movie is that to make it through life without being eaten by a massive metaphorical shark it takes more than just brains brawn or experience, it takes a combination of the three and a little bit of luck (that sometimes comes in the form of a scuba tank).
Every Star Wars film is in some way about a characters hero journey. Whether it is Luke, Han, Anakin, Rey, or Leia, almost every character goes through it in one or more of the movies. In this blog post I will be talking about how Darth Vader goes through it with his redemption at the end of “Return of the Jedi.” Darth Vader begins the movie just as seemingly evil as he was at the end of the last when he announced that he was in fact Luke’s father and cuts off Luke’s hand. He is the Empire’s greatest pawn. A man of immeasurable power. As the movie goes on, however, we as the audience begin to see this change. Vader begins to show love and care for his lost son in the hours of this movie when Luke is on the Death Star 2. The Emperor is attempting to corrupt Luke and bring him to the dark side and Vader can see this. In his mind he begins to question the Emperor, but does not act on his questions. This is his refusal to the call that leads into hi major heroic actions towards the end of thr film. In the final fight of Luke vs the Emperor, Vader sacrifices his own life to save his son. He even has a return to home moment when his force ghost can be seen among those of Obi Wan and Yoda. It is a much smaller and shorter journey than characters like Luke or Han go on, but it is a pivital moment none the less.